A Dozen Rooms To Make You Want To Move To Europe

Inside the sophisticated homes of 12 of our favorite European decorators and fashion designers

Inside the sophisticated homes of 12 of our favorite European decorators and fashion designers

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Photographer: Simon Upton

Designer Olivier Gagnère’s Paris apartment is located in the same neighborhood in which he grew up. But it maintains a well-traveled feel thanks to a blend of his own designs with exotic textiles—like his low-profile sofa covered in an antique suzani from Afghanistan.

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Gianni Franchellucci

European Flair

In the drawing room of Mehall Griffey and Jerry Maggi’s home in Catania, Italy, the stucco ceiling and painted concrete-tile flooring are both original to the building. The sofa is by Baxter, the antique tabernacle is Austrian, and the 18th-century Flemish painting was found at a Paris flea market. The walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

In the Brussels home of Anne-Marie Midy and Jorge Almada, the velvet sofa, armchairs, bench, and mirror are from the couple’s company, Casamidy. The mantel is original to the early 1900s-era townhouse.

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Photographer: Henry Bourne

Fashion designer Giambattista Valli’s Rome pied-à-terre nods to his extensive travels and the eclectic feel of the city. The living room drums are from Africa, the cocktail tables are Danish, and the prints are by Andy Warhol.

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Photographer: Michal Venera

Celia Tejada, Williams-Sonoma’s senior vice president of development and design, drew inspiration from her family’s lively kitchen in Spain to create the sitting area in her San Francisco home. Color and pattern take center stage with a vintage movie light and a mix of pillows.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

Lawyer-turned-financier-turned-designer Antonello Radi layers antiques in his palazzo in Foligno—including a gilded mirror in the living room, portraits from Brittany, and a pair of 19th-century slipper chairs that retain their original velvet upholstery.

In the entrance hall of Lorraine and Patrick Frey’s Paris apartment, curtains made of Faucigny cotton, from their family’s line, Pierre Frey fabrics, act as a dramatic welcome.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

In Kit and Tim Kemp’s London townhouse, the British hoteliers employ their signature eclectic style, giving the library a jolt of color with a George Smith armchair upholstered in bright stripes.

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Photographer: Joshua McHugh

In her Manhattan pied-à-terre, designer Alessandra Branca shows her Roman roots by covering Italian painted chairs in a Fortuny fabric, and creating a pair of lamps from 18th-century Italian columns.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

European Flair

For his attic apartment in Brussels, French designer Bruno de Caumont uses Regency chairs and an Empire sofa from the Paris flea market to create an eclectic, but tailored look. The color-blocked cocktail tables are his own designs.

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Photographer: William Abranowicz

Though designer Robert Couturier has lived in Manhattan since the age of 25, his Soho apartment pays tribute to his upbringing in Paris. A Louis XIV mirror, and an oak-and-porcelain table by Jacques Adnet and Maurice Savin take center stage in his living room, while a Turkish kilim adds further color.

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